Last Game / Last Meeting: Last night in Wilkes-Barre, the Pens beat the Binghamton Senators 5-0. Matt Murray had a 30 save shutout. For Hershey, they last played the Penguins in New Years Eve against the Pens in Wilkes-Barre and lost 2-0. Jeff Zatkoff had a 24 save shutout.
Record: For WBS: 20-12-1-2 (43 pts., 1st place East Division) — For HER: 16-12-4-1 (37 pts., 2nd place East Division)
Why you should care: Penguins can really put distance on the Bears tonight with a win. A regulation win would make it an eight point lead on the Bears and the rest of the division. But, it’s always easier said than done when it’s Hershey.
Comments Off on Wheeling Feeling — Pens WIN 5-0
Posted by nafsnep on January 2, 2015
vs.
0 5
–
Picture this. You get promoted at your job. You want to make an impression to show management that they made the right choice in promoting you and you want to prove to others that they can count on you when it hits the fan.
Matia Marcantuoni and Sahir Gill both netted goals, their first in the AHL. Zack Torquato had an assist. The Penguins have shut out their opponents in back to back contests.
Matt Murray this time was the one with the shutout. His third on the season. Jeff Zatkoff sat this game out, and will probably get the net tomorrow in Hershey.
About Zatkoff, I was all set to blog about his Goaltender of the Month Award for December, before Andrei Vasilevskiy from Syracuse won it. Here’s the thing though, Vasilevskiy only played in five games! By rights though, Laurent Brossoit out in Oklahoma City probably earned it, he played in ten games and was just as good if not better than Zatkoff and Vasilevskiy.
Anyway, I don’t want to complain any longer. Murray was opposed by Andrew Hammond. Here’s the lines….
Conor Sheary – Nick Drazenovic – Tom Kostopoulos
Sahir Gill – Carter Rowney – Josh Archibald
Tom Kuhnhackl – J-S Dea – Dominik Uher
Pierre Leblond – Matia Marcantuoni – Zack Torquato
Taylor Chorney – Brian Dumoulin
Reid McNeill – Barry Goers
Nick D’Agostino – Alex Boak
Matt Murray – Jeff Zatkoff
Patrick McGrath took part in warmups but was scratched.
First Period: Three goals in a span of 4:10, had the Penguins up 3-0. Drazenovic knee drop one timer on a tic tac toe pass from Conor Sheary on a deflection of a Taylor Chorney shot from the blue line, and a Derek Grant own goal on a Sahir Gill whiff of a shot he missed on when he cut to the net and missed.
Every time the Penguins scored, Binghamton came the other way and nearly scored. The B-Sens also had the benefit of two power plays but the Penguins did not allow them to cash in on them. If you are asking me where the game was won tonight, it was after the first period when Binghamton had failed to score on two power plays.
Second Period: Matia Marcantuoni got his first AHL goal on a rebound of a Taylor Chorney shot off a nice pass from Zack Torquato. Nick Drazenovic made it 5-0 on a rebound goal while the Pens were on the power play.
Third Period: Pierre Leblond had a hell of a game for himself. He nearly scored on a shot that Hammond made a toe save on. Carter Rowney had a game high seven shots and had severe chances to score on the oft scored on Hammond but the Binghamton net minder had his number all night. Teams traded power plays with no one taking advantage.
Three Stars: 3) Taylor Chorney (two assists, +3) 2) Nick Drazenovic (goal, assist, +2) and 1) Matt Murray (30 save shutout)
The Penguins have now held opponents scoreless for 122:14* going back to the Norfolk game last Sunday.
Conference: 1) MCH (50) 2) SPR (46) 3) WBS (43) 4) SYR (46) 5) HFD (40) 6) PRO (37) 7) HER (37) POR (37)
Wheeling Update: Nailers win in comeback fashion. Down 3-0 at one point in Fort Wayne, Wheeling wins in shootout fashion 5-4. Eric Hartzell stopped 31 of 35 and all 5 Komets shooters.
YouTube Highlights….
Pens travel to Hershey tomorrow. If the Pens win, it takes the two games in hand that Hershey has on Wilkes-Barre out of the picture entirely. Gameday for this will hit the blog Saturday at 3.
Let’s Go Pens!
* – number may be wrong. I am a noted idiot when it comes to math.
Last Game: Wednesday at home against Hershey, the Penguins won 2-0. Jeff Zatkoff had a 24 save shutout. The B-Sens hosted the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Wednesday and won 6-2. Derek Grant had a goal and two assists and took home first star honors.
Last Meeting: December 26 in Binghamton, the Penguins were shutout by Scott Greenham 3-0. Greenham had 31 saves.
Record: For WBS: 19-12-1-2 (41 pts., 1st place East Division) — For BNG: 15-13-2-1 (33 pts., 3rd place East Division)
Why you should care: Binghamton took the Pens behind the woodshed last time these two teams met last Friday in Binghamton. The Penguins are out to get revenge on the B-Sens tonight and extend their lead in the East Division.
Comments Off on Zatkoff’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve — Pens WIN 2-0
Posted by nafsnep on December 31, 2014
vs.
0 2
–
The Penguins may have a lineup stripped of all of their scorers and stars, but one steady remains. His name is Jeff Zatkoff. His numbers this month? 6-1-0 with a 1.28 GAA and a .955 save percentage, including two shutouts.
If that isn’t enough to win AHL’s Goaltender of the Month for December, I would love to see the guy who does.
Zatkoff’s 24 save performance is enough to propel the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins to a 2-0 win over the rival Hershey Bears and a four point cushion over Hershey in the East Division Standings.
Zatkoff was opposed by Philipp Grubauer, starting his second game in less than 24 hours. Grubauer aided the Bears to a 2-1 win over Norfolk last night.
Wilkes-Barre got help from Pittsburgh in the form of Dominik Uher and Brian Dumoulin. That said, this is what the lines looked like tonight…
Conor Sheary – Nick Drazenovic – Tom Kostopoulos
Sahir Gill – Carter Rowney – Josh Archibald
Tom Kuhnhackl – JS Dea – Dominik Uher
Pierrre Leblond – Matia Marcantuoni – Zack Torquato
Taylor Chorney – Brian Dumoulin
Reid McNeill – Barry Goers
Nick D’Agostino – Alex Boak
Jeff Zatkoff – Matt Murray
Notes: Reid McNeill was back from his illness. It was reported yesterday that he was being isolated from his teammates and tested for possible mumps….Clark Seymour took warmups but was scratched.
First Period: Went scoreless. Wilkes-Barre had three power play opportunities in the period but were up against the AHL’s top penalty killing unit in Hershey.
Second Period: Hershey got a power play chance. Wilkes-Barre really took advantage of opportunities shorthanded, Carter Rowney had a Grade A chance. Fun fact, the Penguins have yet to score or be scored on shorthanded.
Conor Sheary was everywhere this game. He created chance after chance. Late, Cameron Schilling was booked for interference with under a minute to play. On the ensuing power play, Brian Dumoulin found space at the top of the blue line, fired and Tom Kostopoulos got a stick on it for the deflection goal to put the Pens ahead 1-0.
Big goal at the time, because to this point, it was a chess match.
Third Period: Grubauer would exit with a lower body injury. He would go down to make a save and not get back up. He needed assistance off. Just prior to, he absolutely robbed Sheary with the pad. Sheary never was able to elevate the puck.
Enter Pheonix Copley. Penguins power play. Nothing doing.
Tom Kostopoulos and Hershey captain Dane Byers fought. Byers took down Kostopoulos with a big overhand right.
Wilkes-Barre had to then kill two consecutive penalties. With shot blocking and big time saves from Jeff Zatkoff, they were successful.
Dominik Uher picked off a Bear right in front of Copley and scored with under a minute to play to make it 2-0. Uher’s birthday is December 31.
Three Stars: 3) Dominik Uher (goal, +1) 2) Tom Kostopoulos (goal, even) 1) Jeff Zatkoff (24 save shutout)
Conference: 1) MCH (48) 2) SPR (46) 3) WBS (41) 4) SYR (44) 5) HFD (38) 6) HER (37) 7) PRO (35) 8) POR (35)
Wheeling Update: The Nailers were off today. They are in Fort Wayne, Indiana Friday.
You Tube highlights…
Worth noting that Pittsburgh is finally getting healthy again. It looks like a defenseman and two forwards will be on the way back soon, likely in time for Friday’s game vs. Binghamton. I may drop a blurb in on the blog here Thursday. If not, next blog update will be the Friday setup vs. Binghamton.
Last Game: Sunday at home vs. Norfolk, the Pens won 2-1. Nick Drazenovic had a goal and an assist in the game and was named first star of the game. For Hershey, the Bears played Norfolk last night and won 2-1. Kris Newbury had two assists, Philipp Grubauer stopped 21 of 22 shots.
Last Meeting: December 14 in Wilkes-Barre, the Pens won 3-2 in overtime, with Adam Payerl netting the overtime goal.
Record: For WBS: 18-12-1-2 (39 pts., 1st place East Division) — For HER: 16-11-4-1 (37 pts., 2nd place East Division)
Why you should care: Tonight’s game is for first place in the division featuring two teams that don’t like each other.
Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 12
Posted by nafsnep on December 29, 2014
There used to be a saying around the American Hockey League that the East Division was the best division where hockey is played.
No more.
The Northeast Division is the best division in the AHL. With all five teams in the top eight in the Eastern Conference, all five teams are in the top nine in the Week 12 Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings.
But, there is a team out in Oklahoma City that is tops this week and a team in Utica that is tops overall.
With respect to the East Division, there is a team that the Politboro finds to be the most complete team. It isn’t Wilkes-Barre or Hershey, so you’ll need to hop through the jump to see who and to see where all the other teams ended up this week.
Comments Off on These Kids are Alright — Pens WIN 2-1
Posted by nafsnep on December 28, 2014
vs.
1 2
–
With literally half of the team either injured or on recall to Pittsburgh, if I told you that the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins would only lose one point off of their five point lead coming into this weekend, do you take it?
If you say no, you are a liar.
The Penguins defeated the Norfolk Admirals Sunday afternoon by a score of 2-1. The Penguins once again enjoyed the services of Nick Drazenovic, returning from illness and Brian Dumoulin, retuning from Pittsburgh. It was announced during the game that Dominik Uher was recalled to Pittsburgh. The Penguins play the New Jersey Devils Monday night.
So the lead on the Bears shrinks one point to four, with Hershey having two games in hand on the Penguins. Wilkes-Barre plays the Bears twice this upcoming week.
Matt Murray started the game and was sharp when he needed to be. He was beat in the second period by a low shot by Dave Steckel after a busted Penguin line change.
The Penguins got goals from Conor Sheary in the first period and Nick Drazenovic in the third. The Sheary goal was a rebound of shots that Drazenovic and Tom Kostopoulos were peppering Norfolk starting goaltender Jason LaBarbera with. The Drazenovic goal was a laser that he unleashed on the far wall that went crossbar and in.
The Sheary goal ended a shutout streak that lasted 173:33 going back to last Saturday in Binghamton and two shutouts this Friday in Binghamton and Saturday at home against Bridgeport.
The Penguins had to kill :54 of a 5-on-3 late in the first and kept the Admirals off the board on special teams all night.
Wilkes-Barre used a team effort of shot blocking in the third period. Matt Murray only faced four shots.
Drazenovic’s re-entry into the lineup was felt immediately. He had a goal and an assist and factored into all of the offense tonight. He was the first star of the game. The second star was Conor Sheary, who has really been the only steady presence that the Penguins have had all season. Matt Murray stopped 26 of 27 shots to take home third star honors.
No one else in the division played tonight.
Standings are Penguins with 39 points, Hershey with 35, Lehigh Valley with 33, Binghamton with 31 and Norfolk with 25.
Conference is Manchester and Springfield with 46 points, Wilkes-Barre with 39, Syracuse with 44, Hartford with 38, Hershey with 35, Albany and Bridgeport with 34 each.
The Nailers played three skaters short and lost to South Carolina by a score of 5-1. The Nailers lost Tyler Murovich to recall to Wilkes-Barre early this morning. Murovich was probably insurance for Drazenovic, in case he couldn’t go. He participated in warmups but didn’t dress.
The only other lineup change was Paul Cianfrini for Brian Dumoulin.
Highlights, via Youtube…
My Week 12 AHL Power Rankings hit the blog at 4 p.m. Monday. Unless the calvary returns in time for the New Years Eve bash with Hershey, expect the next blog update after Monday’s Rankings to be the Wednesday Gameday setup against Hershey at 11 a.m., for the special 3:05 start.
vs. 
vs. 
WBS News
